Global pattern of leaf litter nitrogen and phosphorus in woody plants
| dc.contributor.author | Kang, H. Z. | - |
| dc.contributor.author | Xin, Z. J. | - |
| dc.contributor.author | Berg, B. | - |
| dc.contributor.author | Burgess, Paul J. | - |
| dc.contributor.author | Liu, Q. L. | - |
| dc.contributor.author | Liu, Z. C. | - |
| dc.contributor.author | Li, Z. H. | - |
| dc.contributor.author | Liu, C. J. | - |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2011-09-29T17:15:22Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2011-09-29T17:15:22Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z | - |
| dc.description.abstract | Forest ecosystems exert an important influence on global biogeochemical cycles. A global dataset of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in leaf- litter of woody plants was compiled from the literature. Among the 677 data sets, 482 included P concentrations and the N:P ratio. At a global scale, the mean leaf-litter N and P and N:P ratio were 10.9 mg g-1, 0.85 mg g-1 and 18.3, respectively. Leaf-litter N and P were significantly correlated. When the data was grouped by continents, the highest mean N was found in Africa (19.5 mg g-1), and the lowest in North America (8.18 mg g-1). P was significantly smaller in the Asian Islands (Japan and Malaysia, 0.44 mg g-1) than on the Asian mainland. For the global dataset, leaf-litter N increased linearly with mean annual temperature and annual precipitation and decreased with latitude. Although leaf- litter P showed no significant relationship with temperature, it declined linearly with precipitation and there was a convex quadratic relationship with latitude. For the global dataset and also for different functional groups (e.g. shrubs, evergreen broadleaf, deciduous broadleaf, and conifers) the leaf-litter N:P ratio generally followed a positive linear relationship with temperature and precipitation, and showed a concave quadratic response with latitude. The differences in leaf-litter N:P ratio among functional groups and among continents should be taken into account when modeling biogeochemical cycles in different regions as well as on a global scale. | en_UK |
| dc.identifier.issn | 1286-4560 | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/forest/2010047 | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/6197 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_UK | - |
| dc.publisher | EDP Sciences | en_UK |
| dc.subject | nitrogen phosphorus woody plants leaf-litter climate nutrient resorption stoichiometry chemistry latitude forest decomposition temperature leaves | en_UK |
| dc.title | Global pattern of leaf litter nitrogen and phosphorus in woody plants | en_UK |
| dc.type | Article | - |